The WNBA’s 2025 regular season was its most-watched since 1998 with an average of 969,000 viewers, but the reported 3% growth comes with a major asterisk from a new Nielsen measurement system that complicates year-over-year comparisons, as reported by Sports Media Watch.
New math, new narrative: The numbers are the first to be measured under Nielsen’s “Big Data + Panel” system, which is expected to inflate audience figures. Because Nielsen's policy is to compare these new metrics against last year's panel-only data, the 3% bump could simply be a result of the change in measurement.
The Clark conundrum: The league pulled off this growth largely without its biggest star, Caitlin Clark, who missed most of the season with an injury. Her star power remained undeniable, as she played in the season’s four top-rated games, including an opener that drew 2.7 million viewers. The Fever’s fanbase also proved loyal, with two games on CBS without Clark still pulling in over 1.3 million viewers each.
Proof in the panel: The growth wasn't uniform, as networks like ESPN and CBS saw boosts while Ion saw a dip. But the positive trend isn't just a measurement mirage. As Sports Media Watch also noted, both ABC and CBS had already logged their most-watched WNBA seasons on record under the old panel-only system, proving a genuine audience increase before the new methodology was even applied.
While the 3% figure is fuzzy, the underlying trend is clear: the WNBA has established a new, higher baseline of viewership, with or without its biggest names on the court every night.
It's not just the WNBA grappling with Nielsen's new math; Amazon's Thursday Night Football is posting "record" ratings with the same asterisk. Meanwhile, a push from the White House to end mandatory quarterly financial reporting could change how the business of sports media is understood entirely.
